Several conventional methods for measuring the status of works that are processed by air-type shot-peening machines are known. Methods for controlling the status while the works are being processed include one that comprises the steps of measuring the pressure for shooting and the amount of materials to be shot by means of a pressure sensor, a load cell, or a sensor for sensing the amount of passing metal, and feeding back such measurements. The methods may include the steps of controlling the grain sizes of the shot materials, detecting the rotation of a work, etc. Another method, called the “Almen method,” is known. It employs a specimen to be shot instead of a work and checks whether the machine operates normally with a specimen that has been scraped.
A sensor that electrically senses the intensity of the shot peening is disclosed (see Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. H04-019071). It measures the impact value, or kinetic energy, and the number of hits of the shot materials.
Further, a shot-peening machine that is detachably equipped with a sensor between a nozzle to shoot the materials and a work is disclosed (see Japanese Patent No. 2764663). That sensor electrically senses the intensity of the shot peening that is achieved by the shot materials. A shot-peening machine that is detachably equipped with that sensor, and which sensor is located between the centrifugal shooting machine, which centrifugally shoots the shot materials, and a work, is also disclosed (see Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. H04-332836). A method for electrically sensing the intensity of the shot peening by embedding a sensor in a model of a work is also disclosed (see Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2002-036114).